Dark Wings
by Shadenight123
Summary: Ichika Orimura was successfully kidnapped by Phantom Task during Mondo Grosso. Years later, he is recovered as a soldier from the terrorist organization. A battle-hardened and skilled Ichika, equipped with the IS responsible for the White Knight accident, trying to adjust to a life he can no longer live, faces new and different trials... No Pairings decided.
1. Upon Dark Wings He Comes

**Dark Wings**

Chapter One

Chifuyu Orimura ground her teeth, clenching her hands to the point where her nails dug deeply into the flesh of her palms. The image flickered on screen once more, the words written beneath clearly giving it purpose.  
Participate at the next Mondo Grosso, and lose what family you still have.  
She looked at the image once more; the IS-core of her Kurezakura already at work trying to trace the sender, trying to find out where those bastards took her brother to. It wouldn't be enough however. Her IS couldn't track them fast enough, not alone, and even if she did there would be laws infringed —it would mean the end of her career as an athlete.  
Yet she would have gladly given it away, if only to have the location of Ichika on her map. To save him, she'd gladly give it all away, even the IS she was currently piloting.

She hated feeling weak and impotent; their parents had abandoned them, and she had taken charge of the household as fast as possible. She always put up a strong front, because it was the only way to go forward in life. For Ichika's future, she had gladly studied and bled through her eyes in order to graduate top of the class. She had taken the responsibilities their parents had discarded.  
Her IS' right fist slammed against the nearby wall, cracking it as she screamed. Blood dribbled down her knuckles. She would not participate in the Mondo Grosso. She wouldn't, but she would find the people responsible for kidnapping her brother, and she would make them pay.  
Even if she had to make a deal with the devil, she would.  
Unfortunately for her, the German Minister took too long in coming to a decision to deploy allied IS pilots and hackers to find the kidnappers' base.  
When Chifuyu Orimura slashed her way through the thick metal doors…there no longer was a brother to save. The kidnappers had already moved him elsewhere.

_**Five Years Later**_

The sun was setting over the mountains in the province of Hokkaido. The assorted greenery of the mountain range was the home of a small and easily forgotten cubicle of concrete, which was barely a speck of grey in the middle of a lot of green. Satellites were useless, and from up close the cubicle looked no different from a normal power alternator.  
Within the concrete block, a metal ladder descended down in the depths for quite a few miles. Deeper down, a large hangar for IS and the few men assigned to their handling entered the final stages of preparation.  
A black framed IS hovered softly, reactors humming as large overextending metal limbs floated close to its back and sides.  
The pilot's face obscured by a helmet, the rest of his body hidden by the thick plating of the forward and backward armor, the IS appeared more akin to a knight clad in steel rather than a nimble and agile fighter.

"We have the Active Inertia Dampeners mounted on the frame," a technician remarked from the side of the pilot, giving the last checks from the outside. "Caliber point eighty on the forearms and the caliber fifty shots are on the side arms. They'll spray in semi-circle. Remember you don't have a back protection. It was somebody's great idea."

"I just need to keep on firing and hold the enemy pinned down," the pilot replied. "Support?"

"Nothing. You go out, you destroy a bit, and then you return. Don't let anyone follow you. Keep it quick and don't waste your time. I'm uploading a map of the main electrical plants of Hokkaido. Whatever happens, you must keep the electricity cut off for at least five minutes. You're acting as a diversion kid, nothing more."

"What's the main show about then?"

"Uchigane and Revive squads moving to capture a few diplomats just returning from the IS Academy in Tokyo. Arachne will provide support to them. It's going to be nighttime soon."

"Autumn gets squads and I'm left with going out alone? Really?"

"She is a part of the Operational Squad. You are not."

"Fine. Dākutaipu ready to depart," the pilot said, clenching his left hand on the controller for a moment.

_Checking Absolute Protection Barrier. Energy Drain Stabilized. _

_Main and secondary thrusters online._

_Active Inertia Dampener found. Compatibility check. Compatibility Problem. Rewriting Drivers. Drivers rewritten. _

_Active Inertia Dampener Testing._

_Test completed —parameters within the norm. Active Inertia Dampener Employable._

_First Shift Initialized. Dark Type –IS Serial Number 002 ready for deployment._

"Dākutaipu, you ready for this?" Ichika whispered, lifting the controls to gain altitude as the hangar's doors slid open.

"Remember to minimize civilian casualties," the operator's voice came through the Dākutaipu's audio output. "The Board of Directors can halt the Peacekeeping forces as long as there are no visible signs of slaughter. Wouldn't want your pretty face on the most wanted list now, would we?"

"I got that," Ichika replied as his IS cut the connection.

_Main Gas Pipes found. Main Electrical Generators found. Suggestion: Coal plant of Tomato-Atsuma provides One Thousand Six Hundred Fifty Megawatts of electricity. Tomari Nuclear Reactor is a viable alternative at Two Thousand Seventy Megawatts for the Hokkaido region._

"I'm not in the mood for nuclear holocausts," Ichika grumbled. "Where are the main lines of power?"

The Dākutaipu soared out of the hangar and through a narrow path dug in the rock to the side of the mountain, just as the sun finally died to leave the place to the night. He exhaled. The Dark Type, his IS, began to gain altitude as it left behind the ground and reached way above the commercial airplane heights. The oxygen levels were stable, and the interior of the Dark Type turned crimson as they warned of the remaining amount of breathable air within the cockpit.

_Oxygen reserves at ninety-nine percent. Optical Camouflage Available for deployment._

"It won't be needed," Ichika said. His eyes moved across the map of the Hokkaido region. He could travel from one side of the place to the other in a matter of hours rather than days thanks to the IS. "Established time of arrival to Tomato-Atsuma's coal plant?"

_It will require half an hour at full velocity. Do you require music?_

"No, it's fine like this Dākutaipu."

_Understood, linking with Phantom Task satellite coverage. I am picking up signals departing from Japan Self-Defence Forces base Chitose. The pattern of movement and speed is viable with the F-15 Eagle Interceptor Jet, heading at Mach 2.5 in an intercepting course. _

The sound of violins entered the cockpit as Ichika rolled his eyes while his IS spun and twisted in mid-air. The side thrusters pushed him further upwards as he increased in speed, holding the IS limbs to the sides. The music picked up, the IS beeping softly to announce they had reached the point to begin their descent.  
The Dark Type, Dākutaipu, was a hit and run IS that was extremely useful in guerrilla operations. It was one of its kind, and it was his. The pilot gripped the handles within the cockpit firmly, stabilizing the frame and moving the body downwards. The thrusters shone as they began to heat, while the weapons fixed themselves as the internal computer calculated the optimal trajectory for the bombing run.

_Bombing run initialized._

He pushed the handles down as he began his descent. The rail guns opened fire from his back, as the bullets soared the air. They hit the ground of the coal plant, igniting the volatile gases and materials within. The explosion was visible even from his position beyond the plant, at the end of the bombing run line.

_Target neutralized. F-15 eagles on engage pattern._

His visor zoomed on the set of tiny spots over the horizon coming closer each passing second.

_Two tactical squadrons, fifteen members strong._

He pushed the buttons on the side of his handles. The limbs' muzzles opened fire as he gained altitude once more.

_Picking up signal from IS academy set on intercept course. Acceleration of over 9G detected. Database links to one model. White Knight IS-001 moving to engage us. Evasive maneuvers. Countermeasures Initialized._

Chaffs sprayed out from the IS's back, as a volley of missiles from the Japanese aviation lost their tracking system and exploded in mid-air.  
"Why all these guys?" the pilot growled, "Why all these guys!?"  
The bullets nicked the cockpit of one of the pilots, detonating the jet as the others broke their formation.

_Calibrating muzzle velocity._

The pilot kept firing, the bullets tearing holes into the wings and sides of two more jets as the pilots within could do nothing but eject, before their crafts exploded.

_Forewarning of potential terrorist attack leaked to maximize diversion ability._

The jets bypassed him, before doing a back-flip to begin pursuit. They opened fire in turn, aiming at his back and clipping one of his shoulders.

_Active Inertia Dampener initialized._

"Fuck," the pilot spun the IS, opening fire as the bullets sprayed in the air and the night sky from both sides. One of the jets' wings clipped, emitting fuel as the pilot ejected a moment before the fighter exploded. Missiles detonated against the front of the Dark Type, leaving the frame unscathed as the pilot ground his teeth from the concussive force. Another jet broke apart as the Dākutaipu shot forward to slice his wing with his bare hand.  
The pilot grumbled as he spun the IS once more, gazing at the remaining jets coming back for another pass. He began to pick up the pace as one of the shoulder armaments of the Dākutaipu opened fire, releasing a concussive shock-wave in mid-air. "Radars scrambled. This should keep them off my tail for a while."

_Recalibrating aim for sonic speed engagement. White Knight inbound. Absolute Protection Activated._

It was a flash. A giant particle beam cut through the air, bursting apart one of the side cannons as it cut through the shield with the ease of a flaming sword against a small slip of butter.

_Right caliber point eighty destroyed. Calibrating. Loss of operation of twenty-seven percent. Still functional. Suggest Retreat._

A giant broadsword sliced the air coming from a tiny white dot off in the middle of the sky, one that soon grew to become an IS. It roared as the blade slammed straight against the front of the Dākutaipu, the forces of the Absolute Protection clashing against those of the White Knight's own.  
The Dākutaipu screamed —or maybe it was the pilot— as the arms of the IS began to crack under the strain of holding the energy of the blade off.

"Take this, Phantom Bitch!" the voice on the other side screamed, before spinning and delivering a kick to the IS' side, sending it to crash on the ground. The pilot of the Dākutaipu hissed from the shock, his back repeatedly slamming against the surface as the momentum carried him through the countryside. The crater he ended up in burst a water pipe, as the cold water sprayed from the ground and against his frame.  
The White Knight IS stood with the tip of his broadsword right against the neck of the Phantom Pilot's IS.

"Deactivate your IS," the voice said coldly.

_Mission Parameters have yet to be completed._

The pilot didn't reply.  
"I said, deactivate your IS," the White Knight growled.

The left side cannon jerked, trying to open fire only for the White Knight's broadsword to pierce straight through the metallic frame, tearing it apart.

"Last warning," the White Knight growled. "Deactivate your IS and stand down!"

The timer on the lower side of the visor reached the zero. The five minutes elapsed.

_Mission Parameters completed. Energy level critical. Deactivating._

The IS flashed for a brief instant, before turning inactive and disappearing from view. The IS pilot of Phantom Task wore a military jacket and a dark helmet to cover his face, as well as combat boots and a pair of long trousers. He didn't try to reach for his combat knife, or his pistol. It would be useless against the enemy's IS.

"You…are a male?"

The pilot didn't reply.

"Remove your helmet."

The pilot didn't obey.

"I said, remove your helmet!" the tip of the broadsword came dangerously close to his face, cracking the light sheen of tempered glass.

Carefully, the pilot's hands went to the sides of the helmet. He unclasped the safety harness, lifting and then dropping it on the ground near him.  
The White Knight IS' pilot remained silent for a moment.

"What is your name?"

The pilot glared at her, but didn't reply.

"Your name! What is your name!?"

"Orimura," the boy said, his eyes dark and narrow as he gazed at the White Knight frame, his cheeks covered in savage scars as if somebody had driven hot pokers into them. "Orimura, Ichika."

The IS White Knight stood still.  
Chifuyu Orimura stopped breathing.

"I…Ichika?" she whispered.

Ichika just _**glared**_.


	2. The Silence of the Lamb-clad Wolf

Chapter Two

"How is he?" Chifuyu paced nervously in the maximum security hospital wing, eying warily the hallway where they had taken Ichika -and where she couldn't go.

"Physically he is fine, Orimura-san," the doctor replied. "He has some light scarring on his face and body, but nothing-"

"Scarring? What type of scarring? What did they do to him!?" Chifuyu's hands gripped tightly on the doctor's shoulders. Her eyes wide and her teeth bared, as if she wanted nothing less than to rip into the doctor and move on.

"Orimura-san!" the doctor exclaimed, shocked.

Chifuyu closed her eyes and took a deep breath, before letting go of the man's shoulders. Her heart slowed down, as her cold exterior resettled firmly over her face.

"Excuse me," she whispered. "I'm not at my best right now."

"Understandable," the doctor replied. "I am sorry to say there is nothing we can do about the scars. They are too old to be treated."

"It's not that...Why did they happen? Did he say anything? He was conscious, right?"

"He did not say a word, Orimura-san," the doctor said. He gazed at the chart in his hands, "But from what we could ascertain, he has scars compatible with whipping and ritual scarification. None are self-inflicted however."

"Torture?" Chifuyu murmured. "He went through torture? They _tortured_ him? And he...he stuck with them? I...I need to talk with him."

"I'm afraid I can't let you do that," the doctor said. "The International Peacekeeping Force has brought up charges against him. He cannot receive visits until he is cleared."

"Cleared? By who?" Chifuyu began to growl. "I want to see my brother, _now_."

"T-That's impossible," the man replied. "He should be sedated already."

"Why would you need to sedate him?" her eyes narrowed. "Unless..."

She dashed ahead, pushing the doctor aside as she ran through the corridor. "Stop!" the doctor yelled behind her. "You have to stop!"

The moment she saw Ichika, sleeping on a bed as two men clearly belonging to the military -their demeanor gave them away- were pushing him out of the room..._she stopped reasoning_.

The flying knee slammed into the sides of the first man, sending him on the ground as Chifuyu spun in mid-air, delivering a sharp kick to the face of the second one. Both on the floor, she ended up gripping on the sides of Ichika's bed.

"You're not taking him anywhere," Chifuyu growled. "Do you hear me?"

The two stood back up, holding their bruised faces, with their right hands moving to the guns at their sides.

"Hai, hai, enough of this now," a female voice spoke, coming from a charming and buxom lady with a tablet within her arms. "It appears you have friends in very important places, Miss Orimura-san," the woman said with a sweet smile. She neared from the end of the hallway, the sound of her shoes clicking against the floor. Her hair was a bright blond color, and the clothes she wore could be defined as 'lewd' and nothing else.

"What are you talking about?" Chifuyu asked, still holding her guard up.

"It appears Shinonono-san has agreed to build five more IS cores," the woman replied, clicking her tongue in distaste, "Provided the International Peacekeeping Forces agreed to let Orimura Ichika off lightly."

Chifuyu's eyes narrowed. She hadn't asked Tabane, but she didn't put it beneath that girl to know about everything. Why make herself known only now however? She always said she had no clue on where Ichika was...and suddenly, she came to her help? This... "It can't be that simple."

"It is. Which nation wouldn't want an IS core of next-gen from the creator herself? Of course, he will be kept under surveillance and data will be regularly transmitted about how he can operate an IS while being male."

"What are you talking about? How do you expect to have him comply unless..." Chifuyu's words died in her mouth. "I see. He'll come to the Academy, right?"

"It will become Japan's sole responsibility to acquire all the possible data on Phantom Task, how Orimura Ichika can pilot an IS while being male and keeping him in line. It is unfortunate we cannot take his IS core without killing him, but this should work fine for the International Forces."

Chifuyu held her breath. It all felt too easy. There had to be a catch somewhere.

"In the circumstance of his escape from the Academy, he will be branded as a Phantom Task operative and be considered a mercenary under the rules of engagement and capture. There will be no mercy," the woman continued. "He is your responsibility now, Orimura-san...as much as Japan's."

With a final curt nod, the woman turned and left. The two bruised guards limped behind her, muttering curses under their breaths.

She pushed Ichika's bed back in the room, wheeling it in place and then taking a seat by his side. She couldn't care less about the hospital's regulations.

She wasn't going to let him out of her sights ever again.

It was only when her heart calmed down enough and her mind returned to properly think things through that the words of the woman rang through her head once more.

"What did she mean," Chifuyu whispered, looking at Ichika's sleeping face. The hem of his hospital robes were slightly loose, and as her hands moved to set them, she stilled. A large scar diagonally cut through the boy's chest. She moved the robes slightly apart, and her breathing hitched. Her eyes coldly narrowed a moment later, as the anger of years came brimming back to the surface.

Orimura Ichika had a small, round disc right above his heart. It beeped softly, attached to a silver chain around his neck.

She tried to pull the IS away –why didn't they do it in the first place— but it refused to budge. The IS hadn't merely been given to Ichika. They had already gone through the first shift at least and _bonded_.

Unequivocally, the only way to remove the IS core would simply be with his death.

She would never let that pass. She'd have a talk with Tabane. They _**needed**_ to talk.

_**One Week Later**_

"Ichika?" he warily looked up -taking the pills and the supplements tired him up. "Are you feeling all right?"

"Not really," he muttered back to the frowning face of his older sister. "The...Do I have to take them?" he gestured towards the pills in the palm of his hand. They had pretty colors, but they were all disgusting to swallow.

"It's for your own good," Chifuyu replied. "We're nearly arrived anyway, so buckle up."

He sighed, swallowing the bitter medicines in pill-format before taking a large sip of water from the glass in front of him.

They had taken an airplane all the way to Tokyo from Hokkaido's hospital. From there, they then had to take a train to the artificial island where the IS academy was.

He didn't feel like standing up from the plane's seat after they landed, but it wasn't like he could just stay there and wait for someone to carry him.

He wobbled back on his feet, his mind a hazy fog of the week before. There had been some form of therapy, a psychiatric evaluation...school. He was going to school, wasn't he?

It looked like a very different type of school. They weren't in the mountains for one thing. He remembered the training in the Urali, was it going to be like that?

"The train won't wait for us, Ichika," Chifuyu remarked as he limped behind her. The airport's security scanner beeped when he passed through, but it took Chifuyu a few seconds to solve the situation by showing a medical certificate –he had iron grafts within his body. Nobody bothered to correct the Representative of Japan in the Mondo Grosso. A few children pointed at her, calling her 'Brunhilde'.

"You'll room with me at the Academy," Chifuyu said. "I sent word ahead, and they should have prepared your room. I...Are you all right?"

"Drowsy," Ichika replied, yawning. "I feel weak."

"It's tiredness from the trip," Chifuyu said.

"That and the medications," Ichika remarked.

"It's not going to be a permanent thing," his sister said. "Just until..."

"Until a doctor says I'm no longer a danger to the people around me?" Ichika said. He eyed an incoming taxi. Chifuyu had probably called it, although he could have used a walk to clear his mind. His luggage was nothing more than cheap and hastily bought necessities anyway; toothbrush, toothpaste, supermarket underwear...they all were a part of his 'new' self.

One that didn't have to train in a terrorist organization in order to eat and live.

"I think you'll like it at the academy," Chifuyu said as the taxi departed towards the train station. "It's very peaceful. The students are nice."

Her voice was soft. It was so out of character for her. What little he remembered of his elder sister had always been of a stern but fair woman. Now, it seemed like she was uncomfortable merely being in his presence. It was as if she wasn't used to it, to him.

He fell asleep a few moments later, his head reclining and ending up against her shoulder. Chifuyu didn't say another word.

She merely looked out of the taxi window, while the driver calmly drove towards the station.

Ichika woke up half an hour later, gently shaken by his sister. The train wasn't going to wait on them, but as they boarded and departed along its rails, Ichika gazed at the sea of the Tokyo bay.

His eyes caught the movements coming from the giant artificial island. Small flickers of light shone brightly against the sun. Those were IS, moving, running, floating, flying...those were IS and he could hear his heart bump loudly in his chest, painfully aware that his wings were going to be clipped.

The medication kept him tired and drowsy, even as he warily stepped outside the train at the academy's train station.

A car waited for them, a woman with green hair and a kind smile waving at them both.

He just...looked around.

"Ichika," Chifuyu said. "Are you listening?"

"Uh?"

"Sorry...he's under medication," his sister said towards the other woman.

"Never mind that," she smiled softly. "My name is Yamada Maya, but you can call me Yamada-sensei, is that all right with you Ichika-kun?"

"Yamada-sensei?" Ichika replied. "Why?"

"Because," the woman replied, "Together with your older sister we'll be your teachers for your time at the IS academy. That's why., it's improper to call me something else although I wouldn't mind if it were you, Ichika-kun but there's the..." she rambled something, but he wasn't listening any longer.

"Ah," Ichika nodded. "I'll be in your care," he acquiesced. The ringing in the side of his head was just a dull buzzing sound. He felt surrounded by swabs of cotton, ignoring the rest of the words the woman seemed to be saying about the school, or the facilities, or the classes...

"And field testing is done regularly through challenges. We have some of the newest frames and models of IS, courtesy of Shinonono-san."

"I have Dark Type," Ichika replied without much thought.

"Your personal IS?"

"Yes," he nodded numbly. His right hand went to his chain, to the small orb of glinting light within the silver frame. "IS Number two," he inclined his head to the side. "Pretty..."

"Uh?" Maya turned her head, gazing at the street behind her. A silver haired girl with a black patch over her left eye stiffly walked towards them, her expression like steel.

"Pretty?" Chifuyu snorted. "That's Laura Bodewig. She'll be one of your classmates. She's just on time," his older sister looked at the watch near the station's wall. "If I'm not checking on you, then she will."

"Instructor," Laura stopped a few meters from them, standing firmly up into a military salute. "Welcome back!"

"Indeed," Chifuyu nodded, visibly pleased. "Laura, this is Ichika. Ichika, this is Laura Bodewig, Germany's representative Cadet."

Laura's sharp red eye settled on Ichika, who smiled awkwardly back. "Hello..."

The German IS pilot returned to gaze at Chifuyu. "Instructor?"

"Keep an eye on him if I cannot, Laura. Show him around the Academy, make sure he doesn't end up in trouble," Chifuyu said, "Guard him with your life," she added sternly.

"It will be done, instructor!" the girl barked the reply like a faithful lapdog, making a firm military salute. Ichika yawned, a hand to his mouth. He was too sleepy to think properly about it. Maybe the next day he'd be less tired.

As the sun went down over the horizon, he barely registered having entered the dormitory proper -or the surprised gazes of the girls around. Chifuyu walked ahead of him with her back stiff and her face stern, Laura following closely behind his back, her eye trained and firmly planted on him.

He simply decided to wave a hand in the direction of the nearest group of girls, smiling lightly.

The door of the apartment slid open with a quiet hiss, allowing the three of them entry. It closed behind them with a soft 'click'. The entrance directly gave into a spacious room, with a sofa and a flat wide-screen television against the wall. A few doors led into the other rooms of the apartment –there was no way this could be considered a 'room' in the dormitory.

The benefits of being a teacher were obvious.

"Laura," Chifuyu said, turning her eyes to the girl. "You can leave for the moment," she deadpanned, gazing at the German silver-haired IS Pilot with a modestly affronted look.

The girl nodded and left, after delivering a militaristic "Yes, sir!" that rung in the room.

"That girl," Chifuyu exhaled, opening the fridge and taking out a beer can. "She's too strict with herself."

Ichika looked around. The room was sparkling clean.

There wasn't a trace of dirt, or a smudge, or even a random bit of clothing hanging from the ceiling's fan. He remembered his sister differently.

_Both_ of his sisters had the same problem with order after all.

He ground his teeth, his right hand to his temple. Shaking his head softly, he sat on the sofa. "I can't..."

"Just rest," Chifuyu said. "The benefit of living in the academy is that you can eat lunch and dinner at the canteen without wasting time cooking," she smiled. "Do you still cook?"

"No," Ichika replied, looking down at his hands. "I don't."

"Remember your pills before going to bed," Chifuyu said. "Don't make me worry about you too much, Ichika."

She opened the can, letting it fizzle before taking a gulp. "There should be some convenience-store packaged lunches in the fridge. If you're hungry, you can eat one."

"I'm not...hungry," Ichika replied in a low murmur. "I think I'll just...go to bed."

It took a few minutes of working with the pills to get the right amount of each in his hand, but then he went over to the kitchen area to grab a glass. A moment later, and he let the water run as he filled the glass. He swallowed and sipped, before leaving it in the sink and closing the tap.

Quietly, he stepped through the door that read 'Ichika's room'.

He didn't even take in his surroundings.

He was simply too tired to care about the computer, or the desk, or the uniform of the academy or any of the books lined on the shelf. He fell down face first against the bed, and crumbled to sleep.

_Dark Type Requesting Input._

_...Pilot Ichika unresponsive._

_Dark Type Requesting Input._

_...Pilot Ichika unresponsive._

_...Brainwave sleep-pattern identified..._

_...Brainwave sleep-pattern modified for communication._

_Dark Type Requesting Input._

Dark Type stood unmanned in an empty Dojo room. The parquet shone from the light that entered through the open doors –of such a blinding white, that it was impossible to see outside of it.

The IS gazed at Ichika, inclining its metallic helmet to the side.

"_Requesting Input,"_ it said, the voice metallic. _"Requesting Input."_

Ichika frowned, looking down at his blurry form in his sleep before stepping forward. The engines of the IS hummed as the pilot neared it.

"_Modifications required ensuring structural weaknesses removed have been listed. Cannot send to nearest Phantom Task Refitting Workshop. Breach of security prohibits sending. Force sending?"_

"No," Ichika murmured, shaking his head. "Are there...others?"

"_One momen_t," Dark Type turned thoughtful, if an IS machine could turn thoughtful by simply standing still and quiet. _"Linking with main database of IS Academy. Counteracting defenses. Facility breached. Location of Models Workshops found. String code for self-assembly sent. Reply positive. Requesting Dark Type models. Request Denied. Requesting Dark Type models. Request Denied. Forcing through security. Request Granted. Downloading. Models of Dark Type IS 002 have been successfully updated. Production of spare components initialized."_

"Uh?"

"_Production completed. Pick components up as soon as possible, Pilot Ichika."_

"Did you just...force the production of the armor frames?" Ichika asked.

"_Affirmative. Backdoor left. Production of spare parts guaranteed. Deleting Workshop System copies."_

"Ah..." Ichika murmured. "Well...do your best?"

"_Affirmative."_

Ichika returned to his dreamless sleep.

The unfortunate security guard patrolling the corridors of the academy found herself staring at the pile of perfectly prepared IS frames for what seemed to be a rear armor. She exhaled. Someone had probably forgotten them out in the open and gone to sleep, rather than empty the workshop in case students needed self-repairs done.

Really...but still, she had better things to do too –apparently, Orimura-sensei had brought a man in her room! That was so going to be the gossip of the next day! She resumed her patrol...hoping to catch some sounds coming out of a specific room.

What else was there to do anyway, in the middle of the night?


	3. White Knight, Black Queen

**Chapter Three "White Knight, Black Queen."**

He enjoyed running. His breathing evened out as he jogged around the course. The academy really had every comfort available, ranging from an outside pool to even a circular running ground. He wasn't alone in his endeavor. Apparently, Laura Bodewig took her 'following' to heart —she was running alongside him, making no effort to hide the fact that indeed, she was keeping an eye on him.

"Lessons start at half past eight," she said sternly. "We have been running for an hour, since six, the instructor will wake up in half an hour."

"I like running," Ichika replied. Still, he diverted his route to bring him back to the dormitories. He jogged his way back in the room, putting himself through the shower and leaving it after a few minutes of hot water. Wearing his uniform for the first time, he took care to remove the wrinkles and gaze at his reflection in the mirror.

The scars on his face featured predominantly over the rest —or maybe his eyes naturally drew to them. One scar cracked his upper lip, another ran down through his left eyebrow. He had a nick on the upper right temple. A jagged cross-like scar was on his right cheek. His left cheek had three vertical lines, grossly separated one from the other. He carefully touched with the tip of his fingers all of them, feeling the skin beneath his fingers.

Ichika opened the fridge, glad that at least the eggs were safe. He ignored the urge to drink a can of beer. He wasn't going to risk mixing alcohol with whatever meds he had to take. He was in a completely unfamiliar territory.  
He really felt more at ease sleeping in the cockpit of the Dākutaipu, or standing in a cramped bunker in a corner of the Phantom Task hangars. He didn't particularly dislike the organization. Barring Madoka and her _fits_, he hadn't been treated any differently than when under Chifuyu's stern education. Madoka was probably the sole reason he didn't want to return to Phantom Task.

She'd flail him alive.

Still, he didn't want to betray Phantom Task. They could have easily killed him at any one moment, but they hadn't. They could have treated him like dirt, but —except for Madoka— they hadn't. He even had some friends in that place; people disillusioned by warfare who believed that only money mattered in the end, people who cursed the name of Tabane Shinonono, and people whom never truly forgot the horrors of wars.  
Thankfully, all of those thoughts drifted away, down the drain just like his failed creation of an egg yolk breakfast. He really couldn't cook even the simplest of things now. It was a bit of a pity.

Stepping outside, he didn't even muse over Laura's uniform —or how her legs appeared 'enlarged' at the base to show off the military boots.

"You are not waiting for the instructor to wake up?" she asked.

"I like fresh air," he replied, as if that answered everything. He stepped outside, Laura grumbling but following him dutifully. "Where is our class?"

"Right," Laura stood primly. "You're assigned to Class One, Year One. Follow me," she began to walk forward, only for Ichika to gaze around with a curious glance.

"What are you looking for?" Laura asked.

"The fighting arenas," he replied softly. "I need Dākutaipu to stretch his wings to assemble the new frames…"

"Frame assembly is done at the workshops inside the main building," Laura replied.

"Dākutaipu is different," he said.

"Really?" Laura raised her right eyebrow. "How so?"

Ichika shook his head.  
Laura didn't pry further.  
The classroom was neat and clean, the desks were state of the art with holographic displays.

_Dākutaipu IS requesting Pilot Input._

Ichika sat down at the spot Laura gestured him to, before bringing his hands up to the keyboard. He began to tap into it, under the watchful gaze of the silver-haired girl.  
The screen flashed briefly black, before a tiny rendition of the Dākutaipu appeared on the lower left screen.

"Is your IS designated for electronic warfare?" Laura asked, now visibly curious.

_Dākutaipu IS requesting Pilot Input. _

A small console command screen appeared over the holographic screen.

_Inputting, what do you need, Dākutaipu?_

Ichika wrote on the screen, receiving a visual confirmation as the next words materialized just after his sentence.

_Dākutaipu IS requesting Input. Personal IS found in nearby proximity, belonging to German Schwarzer Regen model_. _Should retrofit for counter?_

Laura stiffened, eying Ichika warily.  
It was one thing to acquire the knowledge of her model, it was another for the IS to do so by _itself_. It meant more than just the beginning of self-awareness in advanced IS. It meant the AI was at the very least a few years old.

"No," Ichika muttered softly, tapping it on the screen. "No fighting."

_Dākutaipu requesting Pilot Input. Define 'No Fighting' as an apt reply._

_It means we don't have to fight the IS in question, Dākutaipu. _

_Dākutaipu knows that, Pilot Ichika. It asks why it should define it as an apt reply when in a Prisoner of War situation._

Ichika chuckled.

_It's not a POW camp. The academy is…a school._

_Dākutaipu can teach Pilot Ichika. There is no need to stay at this school._

_I can't just leave. We've been caught, and they're willing to turn a blind eye if we…just cooperate a bit._

_Dākutaipu defines thus this situation as a POW situation. Requesting permission to engage in retaliatory strikes._

_Permission denied, Dākutaipu._

_Dākutaipu mood is now 'Sulky'. Is that the apt term, Pilot Ichika?_

_That depends on the…_

"**_What_** are you doing?" Laura asked, bewildered.

Ichika frowned. "Talking with my IS."

"Why are you doing that?" the girl insisted, "They have limited self-awareness, they aren't actually really intelligent. The replies come from a determined set of databases to resemble human contact. It doesn't mean the IS actually _knows_ what it's saying."

_Dākutaipu's mood set to 'Anger'. Dākutaipu requesting Pilot Ichika input. Should we engage in retaliatory strike against German bitch?_

Laura's eye narrowed. "You're making fun of me, aren't you?"

"N-No," Ichika replied, "It's just Dākutaipu has a sense of humor, really."

_Dākutaipu's mood set to 'Enraged'. Dākutaipu requesting permission for phosphorous round installments._

"Don't rise up to the challenge!" Ichika exclaimed, looking at Laura. "Come on, Dākutaipu…be nice," he tapped next.

_Dākutaipu requests definition of 'Nice' on German Pilot. Phosphorous shower is 'Nice' for German Pilot?_

"No, it isn't," Ichika replied.

_Dākutaipu mood set to 'Sulky'._

The small depiction of the IS in the corner of the screen crossed its arm over the chest, and then sat down, moving its head to the side.  
Ichika exhaled.

"How did you manage to become its pilot?" Laura asked. "The IS looks like quite the—"

"Dākutaipu is…well, a wizard-IS," Ichika muttered. "You know of the 'White Knight' accident? That was the first IS developed. The second IS was this one. Dark Type's specialty isn't tied to self-defense or war, but geared towards self-improvement and core technologies. It's mostly…well, Dākutaipu self-improved to become _mine_. That's why I can pilot it. It's not like I can pilot all types of IS. But I can pilot Dākutaipu, because it _chose_ me…and Dākutaipu can become any type of IS, because it _built_ the others."

"What you're saying is that your IS helped Tabane Shinonono in the early stages of IS construction, right?" Laura muttered. "And by copying its code, it could enable males to use IS cores too, exact?"

"Yes," Ichika replied with a nod, "But Dākutaipu _refused_ that."

"How can an IS core _refuse_? It shouldn't have been self-aware to begin with! If that was its specialization, it should have…wait, how did you end up having such an IS in the first place?"

Ichika inclined his head to the side. "Tabane Shinonono gave it to me. She said it was an unruly child and could no longer help her, so she just handed it over."

"But you were a Phantom Task operative," Laura pressed on. "You can't tell me she—"

The door slid open again in that moment, allowing inside a brown haired Japanese girl with ribbons on the top of her head. She froze midway.  
Awkwardly and half-mechanically, she continued to walk to her seat near the window.

"We will talk more about this later," Laura said sternly, before taking her seat —right by his side.

_Dākutaipu mood set to 'Combative'. Phosphorous Shower would suit little bunny needs._

Ichika sighed. He began to tap on the keyboard.

_Come on now, Dākutaipu. You're being unfair._

_Dākutaipu's mood set to 'Inquisitive'. Is this not the correct string of rebukes for arrogant females?_

_No, that's only for…for Madoka._

_Dākutaipu's mood set to 'Neutral'. Understood, Pilot Ichika._

He sighed. The small icon of the Dark Type turned back to its normal form, floating around the desktop and randomly opening folders to check.

_Dākutaipu has detected Malware in Pilot Ichika's personal computer. Proceeding with removal. Removal completed. Dākutaipu countering breaches in personal computer of Pilot Ichika. Closing Firewalls breaches. Initiating rerouting of enemy spyware into computer nearby. Rerouting completed._

The quirk of the Dark Type was the self-improving mechanism. Ichika shook his head. Left alone with a computer, Dark Type would do all within its power to improve it. Once its powers had done what it could software-wise, an 'operator' —Ichika, most of the time— had to physically mount the new hardware. The Dark Type was never satisfied. Yet…  
The IS was also his first friend.  
A very strange first friend to make, but one he could trust and depend on, no matter what.  
The rest of the class entered a few moments later, stepping inside and freezing in shock. It was as if the girls had never seen a man before. Ichika smiled warmly.

"Well, class is starting!" Chifuyu's voice came behind the block of frozen girls, who quickly scampered to their seats. Yamada-sensei and Chifuyu walked inside, the latter giving a hard glare in the direction of the girls —whose eyes were still on Ichika.

"As you can see, we have a new student," Chifuyu said. "Present yourself, Orimura."

Ichika stood from his seat.

"My name is Orimura Ichika," he said, nervously chuckling as he realized everyone in the class was staring at him. "I'm under arrest for terrorist activities in the Hokkaido region and affiliation with the Phantom Task group," he continued calmly, earning gasps and shocked stares from everyone. "I have been deemed by the Japanese and the International Governments too important to dispose of, due to my nature as the sole male IS-Pilot. As such, I have been enrolled at this academy for acquiring as much data on Phantom Task and my IS as possible. I hope to meet you on the battlefield soon enough," he smiled sincerely. "I'm sure you're all going to try to kill me in my sleep, so rest assured. Trying that will only earn you a napalm shower," he chuckled quietly, and sat back down.

Chifuyu slammed her chart on the boy's head, making him 'ouch' and wince in pain.

"This jerk is my brother," Chifuyu snorted, "And an incorrigible prankster. Ignore nearly all of his words. He is the sole male IS-Pilot to date however."

She glared at him even as he merely smiled.  
The girls in the class all giggled then, going all 'Kya' or 'How cool' or 'He's such a bad boy to make Chifuyu-sama angry'. Only one person didn't giggle at all among the class —barring Laura, who never laughed to begin with.  
Houki Shinonono.

"My, how despicable," a female voice said. "To go as far as lie this much! Who would believe such a lie anyway? You're what, fifteen? Yet you claim to be a terrorist for such a dangerous organization as Phantom Task? You're a lunatic at most."

The blond-haired girl had curls, bright blue eyes and wore the uniform with a long skirt and an apron-like front. She looked like a maid —at least, to Ichika's eyes.

"Lesson is starting," Chifuyu said firmly. "You can speak more during the recess," the woman added.

"Of course, I beg your pardon Chifuyu-sensei," and with those words, the strange fair-skinned girl returned to quietly look at her own computer.

Ichika smiled brightly.  
He was going to have so much fun…provided he improved Dark Type to the point of defeating the White Knight…everything _would_ be fine. He'd take the world at gunpoint if he had to.  
In the end, however…he too had no idea what he wanted to do with his life.  
Thus, rather than waste time going back to Phantom Task or acting like a good boy, delivering all of his secrets in exchange for freedom…he'd bid his time well.  
Maybe he'd also find out something that he liked doing along the way —like cooking.  
Uhm…he could try sewing too.


	4. The Importance of Taking Life in Pills

**Chapter Four**

Orimura Ichika grimaced as he flipped through the pages of the 'mandatory' handbook. He calmly put it down, before pushing it as far away from him as possible. Why did he need all of this theory anyway? He looked around the classroom made of polished glass, white desks, white uniforms and no bloodstains...this was a school, not a military academy.

The girls surrounded him as sharks would a lamb drenched in blood, keeping their distances but waiting for the right moment to devour him. That moment arrived with the ringing bell of recess.

Everywhere he looked, there were girls. Giggling, pointing at him, whispering to one another while looking in his direction...really, had they no shame?

"Excuse me, Orimura-san," a female voice caught his attention, coming from a timid first year, "A-Are you in need of help?"

He smiled. "No," he replied. He didn't add anything else. The girl squirmed for a moment, before hastily turning red and bowing repeatedly. She left a moment later in a hurry, returning to a cluster of girls which soon began to go all 'kyah' and 'he's so handsome' and 'the scars, they make him look so rugged' and 'he's really Orimura-sensei's brother, he's so cool' and forth.

There was a moment of blissful peace, before a stern voice reached his ears shattering it.

"Orimura," Laura's voice was firm, "We need to finish our talk."

The girl's eye was set on him, even as the girls around whispered furiously about 'the frigid German melting' and the 'no way he's going with her'. He inclined his head to the side, as if giving it some thought.  
"I'm in the mood for some IS training," he replied. "Want to come with me? It's recess anyway and I'm not hungry," he tapped on his computer, letting it close with a soft beep.

"The arena needs to be cleared for practice use," Laura replied, "It takes a few days at least to obtain permission with the aid of a professor, and you cannot simply use it without the proper authorization."

"There will be no one during the lunch hour," Ichika replied, standing up. "And I'm feeling cramped, staying in here doing nothing. Let's go."

"Orimura!" Laura barked, but Ichika was already walking out of the classroom.

"Call me Ichika," he replied as he waved the girls still in the classroom goodbye. "Come on, let's go have some fun."

Laura clenched both of her hands; biting on her lower lip from the nervousness...she would have wrung the boy's neck, if only the Instructor hadn't told her otherwise.

Ichika rolled his eyes as he reached undisturbed the workshop's area. The lack of people during lunch was really a hole in the academy's defenses. There wasn't even much of a security system –well, not for Dark Type anyway. The IS frames waited for him in a neat pile.

"When did you upload your IS frame into the system?" Laura asked.

"I didn't. Dark Type did," Ichika replied. "Then he decided to erase it after creating the spare parts he required."

"You think they're simply going to let you keep this up, Orimura?" Laura said crisply, "There are at least a hundred and more regulations you are constantly breaking."

"Yes," he replied. "And the point is? Tabane Shinonono changed the world with the IS. Whoever holds an IS, a personal one at that, becomes the representative of their government. IS frames are used for war and pilots trained for it -under the guise of it being just an international sport. Just as Tabane changed the world, and now holds it at IS-point with the core creation techniques known only to her...I do too now," he smiled as he let the Dark Type materialize in the wide hangar-like room for retrofitting.

"Because the Dark Type...is my own Gun against the world."

The dark frames shifted, carefully opening up to reveal small bundles of wire that detached. The wires shifted, gripping onto the new armor frames and tugging them against the back of the IS frame, before beginning to rearrange them. Ichika clicked his tongue, letting the Dark Type do its job.

_Dark Type IS-002 Frames Found. Beginning connection. Connectivity established. Reforming back armor. Discarding excessive frames. Transferring plates to weak points in front armor. Warning. Heating frames for melding. Pilot Ichika should stand still._

Ichika hissed in pain. The brief contact of one of the scorching hot frames with his back wasn't enough to make him scream, but he began to sweat.

"What are you doing!?" Laura exclaimed, "You can't be possibly...get out of there! Set the IS to be without a pilot and let it work with you outside! It's preposterous! That's..."

"That's the price I pay for my gun," Ichika smiled warily, slowly hovering in his IS to turn towards Laura. "The best forms of retrofitting are done with the pilot inside. Dark Type doesn't have a pilot-less mode. We're bound."

"How can you say something like that!" Laura barked, "There's not an IS that can't go without a pilot!"

"Dark Type is special," Ichika replied, as the frames finished adjusting and the IS returned to its closed state. He stepped closer to Laura. "And I'm a special little snowflake of hatred," he added with a wink, "So let's get down to business."

Laura stepped behind him, keeping an eye on his back and his crumpled uniform —it looked like it had gone through the grinder, and yet didn't even hold the burn marks. The first training ground they entered was empty, and with a sharp jump, Ichika shot up in the air —the Dark Type frame appearing in a flash of dark electricity.

Laura followed suite, her own model firmly tucked into the ground. The metallic black frame of her IS glinted, while Ichika's own absorbed the light. He looked like a dark knight; his arms' muzzles redirecting themselves in the direction of Laura.

"Not coming up here?" Ichika remarked dryly. "There's quite the lack of mobility in your IS frame, did you know that?"

Laura clicked her tongue in distaste. "You want to fight, _fight_."

The rail gun charged and fired, releasing a jet of—_particle beam_— he hastily ducked away from it, the Dākutaipu's side engines roaring into life with quick bursts of controlled air pressure. "That's not the standard equipment!" Ichika yelled.

"Your IS isn't standard to begin with," Laura snapped back. The backside of the Black Hare opened up, before launching small guided missiles of various sizes in the air. They left behind white streaks of smoke as Laura lifted the IS's assault rifle, opening fire.

Ichika could hear the small bullets ricochet off the frame of the front armor. The shield wouldn't activate for small arms, which was the principal reason for the armor after all.

_Enacting Countermeasures. Hacking Missiles' Guide System._

Ichika soared in the air, as the missiles pursuing his Infinite Stratos suddenly made a sharp turn, aiming back at Laura on the ground. They detonated in mid-air, Laura's aim true as she fired upon them before they could reach her.

"Overwhelming offensive power," Ichika muttered. "Against slow and stationary target…what does she have against fast moving ones?"

_Dark Type suggests re-reading the manual of the enemy Is. Schwarzer Regen is a close quarter combat type module. If Equalizer changes made, results may vary._

Ichika felt his entire body thrust backwards, as Laura went from stationary to flying in less than a split second charging at him with quite the speed. The sound wall _broke_ as the thunder-like noise reached his ears muffled out by his IS a second later. The Inertial Dampener had come into effect, shielding his front from the massive sword that now stood in Laura's hands, crashing against his shield.

"You have an AIC too!" Laura yelled, "Where did you get it!?"

"You're asking me?" Ichika hissed, thrusting his right hand forward to grip at the blade's side, before the muzzles on his arms opened fire in continuous bursts. The gunshots barreled against Laura at point-blank range, before the high-caliber guns on his shoulders opened fire too.

Laura pushed Ichika away from her, speeding up as she took her distances.

Ichika's left IS arm rotated of forty-five degrees, a single long muzzle now replacing the multiple others.

_Phosphorous Shower Equalizer activated. _

His IS legs spun, moving the exit point of the engines to the sides.

_Sideways Engines Equalized. Activating Enhanced Perception. Analyzing Data Packets for counter-CQC mode. Acceptable risk for the pilot taken into account._

"I hate it when you say that," Ichika murmured, grounding his teeth.

The monitors of his frame beeped an angry shade of red, but the engines threw him to the left side at Mach One speed —fast enough to avoid the blow of an energy sabre swipe directed at him.

"Stop being a coward!" Laura yelled, turning to gaze at him. "I'll rip you out of your armor if it's the last thing I do!"

"She's quite competitive, isn't she?" Ichika murmured, looking through the various monitors within his frame. "Heat dissipation in the Schwarzer is required after each fast speed burst. There's poor air circulation in those joints…probably to sustain the entire frame. The rabbit can hop…but not always," he turned to gaze at the battle situation.

_Countermeasures Finalized._

A video feed shot up in the upper right corner of his IS, and he smiled. He could do that.

Laura charged the particle beam —a recent addition in place of the rail gun system— once more. The heat dissipation on her IS frame had worsened dramatically after its addition, but the beam had more penetrative power and could be shot for three to four seconds continuously.

It also didn't require ammunition, but simply used the stored energy of the IS core.

That was when Ichika finally returned fire. The bullets slammed against Laura's frame, the Active Inertia Dampener blocking them before they could damage her, but as he began to spin in circles around her IS, a few nicked at her back blowing up as the pain made her cry out in surprise. Her shields yet held.

The Particle cannon finished charging, just as she removed the eye-patch from her golden eye. The world seemed to freeze, as she took in every little bit of information at the same processing speed of her IS, calculating the trajectory of the blow and opening fire at the precise instant required.

The particle beam sliced through the air, an inch away from the upper left shoulder of Ichika's IS. The very frames retracted inside, avoiding the blow. Laura's eyes narrowed both.

That reaction time couldn't be human, not for such a tiny and precise motion.

There was a 'sproing' sound. Laura's eyes widened as the single muzzle fired a spherical container in mid-air, before it shone and exploded, releasing a cloud of vaporous white powder.

It ignited a split second later, and Laura hastily flew backwards as the phosphorous began to burn.

"Are you nuts!?" Laura yelled. "Phosphorous rounds have been banned decades ago!"

Ichika clicked his tongue and smiled. "Then just keep on dodging them!" he chuckled, opening fire again. "Come at me with strength, not with half-assed attempts!"

He opened fire again; this time accompanied by the bullets from the muzzles on his other arms. Spinning in circles around Laura, the German IS pilot forced herself up in the air, only for Ichika to follow her in an ascending spiral.

"Well!? Is this the pride of Germany!?"

Laura twisted the frame in mid-air, throwing herself back down and activating the Inertia Dampener just as Ichika shot forward. The impact halted Ichika's advance, making the Dark Type crash against the shield…until Ichika activated his own.

The two shields fought one another, collapsing at the same time as the giant sword wielded by Laura came crashing down on the giant IS black frame shield formed by Dark Type for the occasion. The bundling of wires twisted around the blade, shining with dark crimson lights as they ignited secondary engines within the extra frames. The giant sword flew out of Laura's grip, just as Ichika's other hand thrust forward with claw-like fingers.

It crashed against the energy lance of Laura, who formed just in time to avoid the attack from reaching her face. Gripping onto the energy lance himself, Ichika smiled, pushing his face forward.

Separated only by the energy lance, the faces of both pilots gleamed with sweat.

Ichika's face held a maniacal laughter, while Laura's eyes were narrow and showing her effort it keeping away the enemy IS.

"Doesn't this make you feel alive, Laura!?" Ichika asked, laughing slightly. "This sensation! This adrenaline! This power! Aren't you glad you're alive for this!?"

"How…are you…holding," Laura hissed out, "the lance…"

Ichika smiled, "That's a secret."

_Dark Type rerouting power. Power rerouted. Absorption. Absorption completed._

The energy lance shattered into Ichika's hand, now filled with small tentacle-like protuberances.

"You should have hit me with all you had at first," Ichika retorted hotly, gripping onto Laura's face with his right hand. "I'll give you a two out of ten."

A sword stopped an inch away from Ichika's neck.

"Let her go, Ichika."

Chifuyu's White Knight frame stood next to them. "You've been using these grounds without authorization," she added next.

"It was fun," Ichika muttered back, letting go of Laura's head.

"Instructor," Laura said, breathing in deeply, "I had everything under control!" her eyes went to her particle cannon, already charging another blow.

"Cease this now, both of you," Chifuyu clipped in. "Down on the ground, closed form, no talking until I'm done with both of you."

Laura grimaced, before nodding sternly. They all descended in silence, before the IS frames disappeared back in their closed forms.

Chifuyu then turned to Ichika. "Have you been taking your pills?"

Ichika grumbled, but said nothing, merely gazing at the ground.

Chifuyu's hand went for his neck, "I asked you a question, Ichika!" she snarled.

"I…I didn't," Ichika muttered. "They make me sleepy. And—"

Chifuyu's slap wasn't painful —although it was strong by itself— but it still hurt as it hit Ichika's cheek.

"You take pills in the morning, at lunch, and at dinner. _That's an order_. You don't go against orders, do you? If you want to stay here, then you follow my rules. Take the pills. Now!"

Ichika grumbled, but while slowly massaging his cheek he moved his other hand to a plastic bottle within his uniform's pocket. He swallowed the pills prescribed without water, and then exhaled.

"Good," Chifuyu nodded firmly. "Now," here she turned towards Laura. "Cadet Bodewig! _What were you thinking!?_"

Laura winced at the bite of the voice. "I-Instructor, I…"

"I forewarned you not to be confrontational, and sent you more than enough material to study! You should have been prepared to call me, rather than follow through with whatever he wanted to do! Especially after knowing how dangerous he could be! What were you thinking!?"

"I—"

"You let him guide your actions, and that was where you went wrong. Now go back to the changing room and shower, both of you. There are still the afternoon lessons," she turned towards Ichika. "You'll both go without lunch for punishment…and I'll have a more throughout talk with both of you afterwards… Now move!"

As they both jogged away, Chifuyu turned to the arena's half-torn state. What truly worried her was the ammunition's origin. The only possible way for him to have it would be to have it produced overnight by the workshop inside the Academy…but they weren't equipped to properly form said illegal rounds. The only answer to that was that Ichika had bypassed all the safety systems, installed a program that automatically mixed the proper chemicals, and then inserted into the workshop the schematics to produce such ammunition.

It was _terrifying_.

If the Japanese Government came to know about it, they would probably try to get Ichika killed. Making fun of the Academy's system, utilizing it to produce illegal weapons…it was enough for the death penalty.  
Her breathing hitched only once, as she watched the phosphorous burn. It's use was that of a smoke screen effect. _Clearly_, Ichika had used it to mask his movement…and not as an Incendiary weapon.

This time, nobody had been hurt.

The next time, she hoped she'd…she hoped there would _not be a second time_.

Her heart might simply not take it.


	5. Common Sense Is Overrated

**Dark Wings**

**Chapter Five.  
**  
"Ichika! Wait!"

He stopped. His eyes settled on the dark haired girl, her sharp eyes narrowing on him. "Ichika...is it really you?" the girl asked.

The lessons had just ended, and Laura was by his side glaring daggers at him.

"I...I am Orimura Ichika," he replied, a small smile on his face. "You... are?"

"You don't remember me?" her voice held an undertone of hurt, which made Ichika frown.

"My brain is...fuzzy," he kept his smile up. "I need to take medications...so I can't..." he looked at her ribbons, frowning for a moment, "Houki?"

Shinonono Houki smiled back, her head bobbing up and down fast. "Yes, it's me! You remembered—wait, medications?" she asked, worry etched on her face.

"Orimura is sick, very sick," Laura said, walking in between the two. "Shinonono-san, you should take your leave. We are in a hurry."

"Shut up, you German!" Houki replied, "I'm his...we are still friends, right? I was brought under protection because of Tabane-Nee, but...I heard they kidnapped you once, right?"

"I wasn't kidnapped," Ichika replied with a smile. "Or was I?"

Houki's face filled with grief. "W-What is his sickness?" she asked —her voice now demure— towards Laura. The silver-haired German clicked her tongue in distaste.

"Something to do with his brain, Shinonono-san," she replied, "he sustained neurological damage due to an accident, and as you can see he is sometimes prone to day-dreaming."

Houki brought a hand to her mouth, her skin pale. "I-I see," she whispered. She smiled then towards Ichika, her voice lightly cracked. "If you ever need a hand, you know you can count of me, Ichika."

"Yes," Ichika nodded numbly.

"Not fair!" a few girls exclaimed then, emerging from their hiding spots behind the corners and doors, "You can count on us too Orimura-kun!" they belatedly raised their voices, "I'll nurse you back to health!" another voice said. "No, I'll do it!"

Laura growled; her narrow eye more than enough to freeze and make the other girls run away. They all left in a hurry, leaving behind only the blond haired representative of England. Said girl wore a customized outfit that was similar to the school's uniform, but ended with a far longer skirt, reaching all the way to the ankles. She stepped forward, a superior smirk on her face.

"I heard well? The only male IS-pilot is damaged goods? Uh," she pushed her long blond hair behind her back, with a victorious smile. "Then he mustn't be something special at all," she crossed her arms over her chest. "I, Cecilia Alcott, defeated my instructor during the activation test for my IS."

Ichika inclined his head to the side, "Ah," he nodded. "Did you… kill him?"

Cecilia froze. Her smile remained frozen in place, a drop of sweat falling down her temple. "What?"

"It's not good to boast… if you haven't killed him," Ichika shook his head. "Oh," he blinked as Laura gripped tightly on his arm, starting to pull him away.

"He's also delusional!" Laura barked as she pulled him along, out of the classroom, "Extremely delusional!"

Houki and Cecilia remained behind, gazing at the door of the classroom with wide eyes. They turned to look at each other for a moment, and then went their own way out. Cecilia huffed back towards her room, while Houki headed straight for Chifuyu.

She was not going to believe a single word from the German Ice-Queen. Especially after seeing her carry away Ichika like a ragdoll, Houki was not going to leave her childhood friend —suffering and in pain as he was— in the hands of a psychotic girl with no common sense. If Ichika needed a hand due to his…problems, then professor Orimura should have just called her.

Laura growled as she pushed Ichika against the wall, behind one of the academy's buildings. They were in a small and dirty square that was probably once a storage area, now fallen in disuse leaving behind only cracked brick floors and an old creaking iron storage shed.

"What is your problem!?" Laura yelled. "Are you trying to make fun of the instructor's efforts!?"

Ichika just raised an eyebrow. "Uh?"

"I want yes or no answers from you, Orimura!" Laura barked. Her hands gripped tightly on his uniform's neck ridge. "You have a backstory to use, so why do you insist on trying to break it!? Can't you see how much you're making this difficult? The instructor doesn't need a troublesome person like you!"

"Just like she doesn't need you…right?" Ichika smiled softly. Laura's right fist slammed against Ichika's cheek. The knuckles hit against the flesh, giving out a strong wet sound as the boy gagged, opening his mouth to spit out a drop of blood. "Ouch," he said, clearly enunciating the word and making it seem like an insult. "You hit…like a girl," he smiled. "You are a girl…a daddy's girl? An instructor's gir—"

The knee in the side forced Ichika to kneel forward, his eyes and mouth wide as he clutched his stomach, while wheezing heavily. Laura pushed him on the ground face first, before straddling him on his back and grabbing a hold of his hair.

"I'll kill you, bastard," Laura hissed. "All we need is your IS, not—"

Ichika snickered.

"Why are you laughing now, uh!?"

"Everything…you do…I…grant it."

Laura frowned. There was a soft beep.

One of the forearm Gatling-guns appeared then, its muzzles pointed straight against Laura's form as they began to spin loudly. "How fast are you, Bodewig?" Ichika mocked.

Laura's body pulled her away just in time, thanks to the reflexes learned in more than a few years of training. The bullets sprayed the spot she had been but a second before. Those weren't mere training bullets, or jets of compressed air.

Laura would recognize the fragments and the casings everywhere —hollow point bullets.

The holes in the wall behind her began to emit small tendrils of smoke.

Ichika calmly wobbled back on his feet.

"I wonder…Bodewig…if I told my sister how much pain you gave me," he smiled; his forearm's IS disappeared back into its closed state. "What would she do to you?"

Laura clenched her fists.

"Learn…patience," Ichika continued softly, "And then," he smiled brightly, "Know…when to strike."

He inclined his head to the side. "Do you have a knife, Bodewig? A spare one…that is…"

"Why?" Laura asked.

"Close Quarters Combat…I don't want to…get rusty."

Laura just stared. "You want a knife, a combat knife. You, a terrorist of Phantom Task, an internationally wanted criminal, want me to give you a knife…no. The answer is no. I will tell the instructor you began to act violently, and that I had to subdue you."

Ichika sighed, before calmly taking out from his sleeve a combat knife. Laura's fingers slowly went down to her legs, and to her knife holsters. Out of all her knives, one was missing.

She growled, before slipping out one of her own. "Ah, a Kampfmesser. What's the weight of this jewel? Two-hundred ninety grams?" Ichika said, softly trying his grip on it. "Useable both for the left and right hand, right? This is the good stuff, I admit. It's what…a four-hundred series? It's also laser cut…I always said Germany had the best weapons in the world…wasn't there a saying? 'The only reason they lost the war was because they had the best weapons in the worst hands'?"

"You can mock my country," Laura said, her eyes brimming with hatred. "You can mock my IS. You can mock me…but don't you dare mock the Instructor's training!"

Laura charged ahead, her movements neat and precise. Ichika's own came back, forcing the girl to cease her advance and start skirting to the side, with the boy doing the same. A kick for Ichika's hand turned for nothing, as the boy slammed his elbow straight into Laura's guts, before gripping the girl's hair. Laura slammed her foot down on Ichika's, making the boy yelp as the two fighters distanced again.

"You think you're untouchable? I would have tortured you until you cracked the information out," Laura hissed.

"No can do," Ichika smiled, "I've got training for everything," he tapped with the knife to the side of his face. "See these scars? One of my instructors enjoyed scarring my face —it reminded her of someone she hated. Let me tell you, she only stopped when I could no longer scream…ah, yes," he cracked his neck. "This adrenaline that rushes through the body…The heart that beats so strongly…can't you feel the rush, the excitement?"

Laura kicked the ground, sending dust into Ichika's eyes. The moment she rushed forward, her instincts kicked in again, forcing her to push her head down as the blade came slicing at her eye's height. A few strands of silver hair fell on the ground, before Laura tackled Ichika in the midriff. Instead of falling down, Ichika spun to the side adjusting the momentum, sending the girl to careen on the dirt and roll away.

A step later and Ichika clutched the left side of his back. There was a shallow cut, which was drawing blood.  
Laura showed the gleaming edge of her knife, the little streak of blood on it. She grinned. "You need better reflexes, Orimura."

"I need fewer drugs in my systems, Bodewig," Ichika deadpanned, throwing the knife on the ground.  
Laura…exhaled. Training to first blood was good. If that was his mentality, then it was good.  
It was hers too.

She realized it as she pulled the knife out of the ground and placed it back in her holster. She wasn't supposed to be guarding the instructor's little brother, a kidnapped and traumatized kid returned to 'civilization' after a life of imprisonment in Phantom Task.

She had to keep an eye on a fellow soldier, trained to fight and kill with no concerns and no reasons. Maybe, in some way, his training had been as gruesome as hers…or maybe not.

She checked the holster on her other leg, and then growled as Ichika merely smiled.

"You sure have a lot of knives," Ichika said with a half-whining tone. "Can't I keep one?"

"Buy one," Laura growled, extending her hand. Ichika sighed, taking out yet another knife stolen from the girl, and turning it to the side of the handle before handing it over.

"But I'll never find the good stuff elsewhere…"

"Not my problem," Laura said curtly.

"Sorry for your hair," Ichika remarked as they began to walk back into the more crowded academy streets.

"You're sorry… for my hair?"

Ichika nodded. "An instructor…used to say that a girl's hair was very important to them."

"Not for trying to skewer me, but for the hair?" Laura said once more; dumbfounded.

"It's a pretty silver color," Ichika replied with a shrug. "I was aiming for your eyes."

Laura shrugged. "Eyes are easy to replace nowadays, and are one of the weakest points in the human body."

"I know. That's why I was aiming at those."

"At least you know your basics," Laura said offhandedly, completely unfazed. "Still, it's obvious an experienced soldier would avoid putting his eyes at risk."

"In retrospect, I should have thought about that. I shouldn't have tried to hold down when you came for the tackle, but when I elbowed you it felt like hitting a steel wall, so I planned on stabbing you in the back."

"Ah, a spinal injury? The problem with those is that they're now treatable with ease. Of course, you have to hit the base of the neck to actually make it a lethal strike —and even then, a good first aid treatment can stabilize a patient until the hospital takes care of them."

"Uh, but then again you rolled out of harm's way in a second. Your reflexes are wonderful."

"Of course," Laura rolled her eye, "I am the best Germany has to offer."

"You still had your knife stolen…twice."

"You have deft fingers," Laura grunted out. "Who taught you how to pickpocket?"

"One of my instructors…they were pretty lax in how they went about teaching. Someone called and I answered," he shrugged once more. "I hope they're doing fine."

As they talked and walked together, the girls around them stared —some with hands on their mouths, others with eyes wide in shock.

"What do you think of long-range weaponry used against IS-Pilot?" was one of the questions a girl overheard.

"Depends on the IS and its general awareness. There are—"

"But—"

"The newest models of assault guns for IS-models are—"

Meanwhile Chifuyu, sitting in her office, raised an eyebrow at the sight of one of her student entering in a hurry. "Yes, Shinonono?"

"I heard," she muttered, "Ichika had an accident?"

Chifuyu raised an eyebrow. "Yes, he did. Did Laura tell you that?"

"She did, before carrying Ichika away," Houki replied. "I…teacher, I don't think Bodewig should be the one to take care of Ichika. She's…she's not a people-person, and she's violent most of the time!"

"Oh?" Chifuyu's lips curled in a light amused smile. "That is precisely why I chose her. The two have a lot in common…"

"I'm Ichika's friend too!" Houki blurted out hotly, "Why wasn't I told he'd be coming here? I acted like a fool when I first saw him!"

"Ichika is in a very delicate situation," Chifuyu replied firmly. "Not only is he the first male IS pilot, but there are circumstances behind his sickness. He can become extremely violent depending on the occasion, which is why it is best if someone who can subdue him without harm stands by his side during those times. Do not act like a spoiled brat."

"I'm a Kendo champion!" Houki blurted out, "I bet Ichika hasn't even—"

"Stop before you dig yourself a bigger hole, Shinonono," Chifuyu's eyes narrowed as they assumed a cold and hard glint. "You are underestimating the problem for your own benefit. Now, leave."

Houki tensed, before nervously stepping outside the teacher's office. She didn't know what Ichika's sickness was, but she highly doubted Laura would be able to deal with it.

Ichika…Ichika needed a gentler hand. Clearly, the German wasn't suited.

She repeated that to herself as she walked her way back to her dorm room.

"I'll treat your wound with antiseptic," familiar voices made her ears perk up, as her eyes stared in disbelief at the scene of the German and Ichika entering a dorm room together. The side of Ichika's white uniform —it looked scraggly and rumpled too, as if he had fought in the dirt— was of a dark red color.

"It'll heal on its own," Ichika's words came muffled through the door —Houki clearly wasn't eavesdropping in.

"Nonsense," Laura's voice came through. "Remove your uniform."

Houki's hair began to rise as she clenched her fists.

"Unacceptable," she whispered, "Utterly unacceptable."

"I want it to scar," Ichika replied with a chuckle. "It will be easier to remember the occasion that way."

"I cannot risk infections," Laura retorted. "And there is nothing to remember of important."

"What? The first knife wound by a woman should always be remembered!" Ichika's voice heated up. Houki frowned. Knife wound?

"All right, all right," Laura's voice returned. "I'll cauterize it."

Wait…did that mean that Ichika had already removed his uniform? Like that? Without a bit of a fight? Just what was…no, a moment…did she say cauterize? Where was the common sense in that!?

There was an infirmary in the academy. What was the German thinking! Did she want to field-treat him or something?

She couldn't remain there a moment more. She stood up, before knocking furiously on the door and literally slamming her shoulder against it to open it. "German, stop! What do you think you're doing—"

The door broke open, just in time for two crackling bangs to depart in front of her. Houki Shinonono stood shocked still, as just to the right side of her face, on the entrance's wall, two holes stuck out clearly —two gunshot holes.

They began to fume after a few seconds.

Houki remained frozen. She didn't know whether it was the fact that the German had opened fire on her with a small portable pistol —or the fact that Ichika had somehow a similar gun of his own in his hand— or him being chest-naked while there was a knife placed in boiling water nearby.

"You have deft fingers, Orimura," Laura remarked coldly. "Are you done trying to take my weapons? How did you even know I had one in my left boot?"

"I thought you'd have one per boot —never be caught unprepared," he replied with a grin.

Houki promptly fainted.

Laura growled as Ichika sheepishly handed back the gun.

Chifuyu Orimura, meanwhile, felt an impounding headache coming to hit the back of her head. She gazed at the pile of work in front of her —that had gathered during the time she had spent keeping an eye on Ichika in the hospital. With a heartfelt and heavy sigh, she began to work.

Hopefully, nothing would burn down.

It was just the first day of school after all.


	6. Lording Over Us All

**Dark Wings**

**Chapter Six "Lording Over Us All."**

_In this dark world of ashes, nothing remains but shadows of buildings cracked apart and bullets covering the ground._

**A drop of blood falls.**

_Fire burns high, pure white in color._

**It purifies, does it not?**

_The corpses curl on themselves, like flowers that have bloomed and now rest for the night._

**The dead cannot harm you.**

_Ichika, do you remember my name?_

**Ichika, do you remember my name?**

_"Dākutaipu requesting Input from Pilot Ichika," _the mechanical voice of his IS woke him up. From the computer in his room, the graphical rendition of the head of his Infinite Stratos peeked through to gaze at his resting form on the bed.

"It's four in the morning," he mumbled, rousing himself from his sleep.

_"Dākutaipu sensed a variation in the brainwave patterns of Pilot Ichika. 'Nightmare' is the apt term for said variation. When 'Nightmare' occurs, the subject must wake up. Is that correct?"_

"Yeah," Ichika yawned. "I'll go get ready for my run."

_"Dākutaipu requested new Equalizers to its frame from the workshop to counter Close Quarters Combat. Dākutaipu is requesting Pilot Ichika's cooperation."_

"Sure," Ichika yawned once more. "Let me grab a packed box for lunch."

The monitor of his computer turned off, his IS beeping softly from the chain on his neck. Ichika walked his way in the shower, and after a quick wash, he grabbed one of the many packed lunches that his sister Chifuyu had bought just recently.

He stepped outside in his jogging suit, brand new —and found inside one of his closets just that morning. He didn't know whether it was Chifuyu's silent way of caring for him, or if Dākutaipu had ordered it online and then had a military drone deliver it.

It wouldn't be the first time the IS hijacked military vessels for her own reasons.  
Laura Bodewig was waiting for him just outside. She had a black jogging suit with a silver rabbit sewed on her chest. Her hair tied in a ponytail behind her back and a sour look on her face.  
"Yes, Bodewig?"

"You hacked into the Academy's mainframes again," she remarked.

Ichika smiled as he began a light jog towards the workshop. "Yes, I did."

"That is—" and then she stopped. She stopped because as they left the dormitories, heading towards the building containing the workshop, another girl stood in a jogging suit and with a scornful look on her face. Houki Shinonono was calmly waiting outside, running on the same spot, eying them calmly.

"Hey, Ichika!" she waved at him, smiling, "What a coincidence, right! I had this silly dream last night and I decided to start jogging to clear my head…can I join you?"

"Shinonono," Laura said crisply, giving her a single eye-glare, "you are neither needed nor wanted."

"It's all right," Ichika smiled. "Jogging is for everyone," he added, picking up the pace. Houki followed right behind him, with Laura by her side as Ichika took the lead.

That early in the morning the academy was quiet, the birds chirping softly or tweeting from the branches overhead. Ichika was content enough in running around without a purpose —he always loved running laps, even in Phantom Task— but he had to reach the workshop and take care of business first.

"Have you already received an IS from the school, Ichika?" Houki asked, breaking the peaceful silence.

"I have a personal unit," he replied offhandedly.

"Oh…are you going to participate in the tournament? I don't know if you should with your sickness…"

"Orimura will participate," Laura stressed out, "And I will be his partner for it."

"What?" Houki exclaimed, "Stop speaking as if you've already decided it, German! You can't bully people into accepting your decisions!"

"Orimura-sensei decided as such," remarked Laura, "And you are too unskilled."

It was a moment. The two girls snapped at each other, stared at each other, and Ichika sidestepped with a quiet jog straight out of the road. The two girls kept on running, sniping insults, while he began to run in the opposite direction of the jog.

He reached the workshop alone, stepping inside as the security protocols gave way to Dākutaipu's insistence. The neat black frames of his IS stood built in the pile, and as he activated his IS, he watched once more the tendrils erupt from within its frame to grab at the new parts.

_Upgrade to lower limb system analyzed. Upgrading drivers. _

_Equalizer Valkyrie for Close Quarters Combat installed. Rerouting Power Cords. _

_Equalizer Inertia Dampener Upgraded. Lowered Distance, Lowered Energy Consumption. Upgrading Back Armor Frame._

_Increased Weight in IS frame. Shifting Balance. Installing Spinal Column Upgrade._

_Dākutaipu IS-002 has now reached optimal mass for Middle-Weight Category Warfare Prototype. Self-Sustenance Modules Upgraded. The New Antarctica Treaty defines us as Illegal._

"So much for keeping a low profile," Ichika grunted from within the central frame of his IS, hearing the hisses and clicks of the frames outside wielded tightly together. The monitors within his armor showed him the once more changed appearance. His back had noticeably bulged out, lowering his maneuverability in mid-air. A long laser lance emerged from his right forearm, nestled in between the muzzles of the guns.

His back opened up, revealing a mesh of wires and lights that seemed to hum with energy.

_Weight balanced. Suggest Practice Run. Close Quarters Combat defense enhanced. Suggest Showering in Phosphorus the German._

"Did you plan these upgrades to fight off Laura?"

_Analyzed data. Improved IS based on data._

"Are you jealous?" he asked, amused.

_Dākutaipu requesting Pilot input. Define 'Jealous'. Dākutaipu strives for self-improvement of IS frame and Pilot. That is the prime directive. _

"Jealous means not liking it when someone else nears a person you like."

_Dākutaipu does not like people manhandling its pilot. Is Dākutaipu jealous?_

"Uh…no, that's…more like wanting to protect me, but Laura wasn't manhandling me. We were having _fun_."

_Dākutaipu requesting Pilot Input. Is injuring another person fun? Is scarring another person fun? Is punching another person fun?_

"It depends if it's a friendly spar or not."

_Dākutaipu requesting Pilot Input. Were we having fun in Afghanistan? Were we having fun in Russia? Were we having fun in Brazil?_

Ichika did not answer immediately.

_Dākutaipu requesting Pilot Input. Were we having fun?_

"N-Yes," he whispered out, his eyes closed and a grimace on his face, "We were."

_I understand. Dākutaipu mood set to 'Jealous'. Dākutaipu wants to have fun with Pilot Ichika. _

"We could go on a date," Ichika chuckled, "eat ice-cream and watch a movie…maybe later?"

_Dākutaipu mood set to 'Pleased'. Dākutaipu will hold Pilot Ichika on to that._

"Sure," he whispered as the IS frame returned to its closed state. He walked outside, and returned to his jogging routine.

"You German loser!"

"You Japanese chink-eyes!"

"Those are the Chinese you're talking of, ignorant!"

"You're all the same in my eyes!"

Quietly, Ichika returned to jogging in front of the two —still hurling insults at one another. He hummed to himself as he finished the lap in front of the dormitory.

He stepped inside, heading for the shower.

When he left for the classroom, Bodewig and Shinonono were still fighting —albeit this time, they were in their school uniforms.

"Are you two done?" he asked softly. He was just about to step inside the classroom.

"Uh?" Houki said.

"I'm asking if you're done snapping at each other," he remarked. "You didn't even realize I wasn't jogging with you to begin with halfway through," he smiled as he stepped inside the classroom.

Laura's eye twitched. "O-Orimura!" she barked out, stomping her way inside. "What did you do!?"

Houki looked down at her hands, clenched tightly. Was she…annoying Ichika? She didn't remember Ichika like that, but…so many years had passed. Maybe he had changed, just as she had —what if she had changed for the worse? Ichika wouldn't be cold to her just because of that, right?

Quite a few miles away, under the cover of darkness, IS floated above the sky. The sensors pinged, the lips pursed in disgust. Below them, within the atmosphere, a military base turned dark.

"We're inside," a voice mechanically clicked to Madoka's ear. "Begin descent."

She smiled, thrusting her body down together with her IS. The heat turned the frame golden and crimson, as she and the four IS following her began descent back in the atmosphere.

"Squall," Madoka whined, "I want my toy back."

"Patience, M. Patience."

"But it's not fair!" Madoka's IS frame began to twirl in mid-air, "He's _mine_."

Caliber fifty bullets cut through the anti-air emplacements of the base with ease, exploding them into metallic shrapnel as the armed personnel readied their weapons. The small arms hit meaninglessly against the IS frames, ricocheting away.

From the barrel of her IS' guns, smoke drifted upwards as holes appeared in both persons and walls. The base's only IS craned its neck out of the hangar, trying to walk forward only for Autumn's spidery limbs to snap the enemy's legs and arms away.

The tail came crushing down on the female pilot's ribcage, before the IS frame shut down immediately, reverting to its closed state.

"And another IS for the collection!" Autumn said.

"I told you not to kill her," the voice of Squall came through the link. "You had to disobey my orders, didn't you?"

"Sorry," Autumn said. Madoka could imagine her with a smirk, licking her lips at the thought of the punishment for being a naughty girl. She grunted her disgust in the back of her mind. She didn't care if the two had a relationship —it didn't matter to her as long as she had her toy back.

"We'll talk more when we return to base," Squall said. "Leave without further bloodshed."

A tank round fired out of a garage, the ground vehicle emerging with its barrel still smoking. The bullet thrust Autumn back, her spider-IS losing one of its many limbs.

"You…" Autumn hissed, "You took away one of my precious legs, you bastards!" her IS soared forward, the legs glinting as they cut a path through the soldiers, blasting them into tiny chunks of blood and flesh.  
The tank prepared another shot from its main barrel, only for three swift shots from Madoka's own IS to blow it up with the crew inside.

"I said no bloodbath," Squall ground her teeth.

"Too late for that," Madoka replied, "your lover is on a rampage."

"They took out one of my legs!" Autumn yelled, "I'm paying them back tenfold!"

"You sure like to choose them sane," Madoka quipped watching the carnage unfold.

"I don't think you can talk, M. They have a word for people like you in your country, right?" Squall replied dryly.

"I am just a concerned sister," Madoka said.

"Sure," Squall replied, "psycho."

Madoka didn't reply. A few tanks exploded once more as the bullets tore through their plating, columns of smoke rising up. "Air forces are scrambling up. Retreat out of the atmosphere, right now."

Autumn cackled as she flew upwards in a straight line with her seven legs reclining back on her IS central frame. Madoka followed after her, turning back to gaze at the burning base just one last time, before ejecting from her back a round sphere that began its descent.  
The sphere shone as it hit the ground, before vaporizing in a cloud of scorching hot fire everything around its point of impact.

"I hope you like fireworks, brother of mine," Madoka whispered as her IS frame trembled from breaking the atmosphere and entering space. "Because I'll be giving you lots until I can hold you in my arms again…and scar that horrible face of yours again, and again, and again," she chuckled at first, but soon it became a full-out howl of laughter.

Back at the IS Academy, Ichika looked at the screen flickering in front of him. All that theory on IS frames made him gag. One didn't need to read a two-thousand thick book to understand that the IS was a semi-sentient machine geared primarily towards warfare through the use of optimal maneuverability and space flight, mixed with close combat options and enhanced mobility. The foot soldier protected by the IS' frame, with its heightened sensors and logistic capabilities was worth more than a thousand ships —as the White Knight incident demonstrated.

His eyes began to doze off.

The lessons were so boring…

He fell asleep.

There was a soft 'thud' in the classroom. Every single girl's breath stopped. All eyes settled on Orimura Ichika's back, as the boy began to snore, his arms crossed to work as a pillow for his head.

Chifuyu closed her eyes, massaging the bridge of her nose, before exhaling. She could understand Ichika falling asleep in class.

It was the second night she heard him scream in his room from his nightmares after all.

She'd let it go.

Just this time, however…just…this time.


End file.
